Anima
by monicawoe
Summary: season 6 AU: Ruby finds Sam while he's soulless, and she has plans for him. Dean just wants his brother back the way he was. (written for davros fan)
1. Chapter 1

"Last night was a…high point, if you don't mind me saying," Ruby said, swaying the hips of the new body she'd chosen as she moved closer to Sam.

"Good."

"All right. Well, I see you need to start your day. When did you say you were heading out?"

Sam stayed silent. If anything, he seemed even more quiet now, and he hadn't exactly been a big talker before.

"You didn't. Right. Damn, you know how to play that mystery card," she said. _But so do I._

He cleared his throat, and she turned around to find him holding two hundred dollar bills.

"Right. I almost forgot." She took the money from his hands slowly, playing up the moment, and smiled as she said, "Next time…" She handed him a card with her cell number on it. "You can call me on my night off. If you want."

"Okay."

That was it. No final smile, no look of longing. She'd definitely been hoping for a bit more. Something was different about him. The old Sam would never even have been in this situation in the first place. "Okay." She turned to leave, debating on where she'd wait to follow him. The parking lot was probably her best bet, but she didn't know which car was his. She'd checked the parking lot here on her way in, when Sam had walked her back to the motel after finding her on the street corner last night. The Sam she used to know would have picked something old and boring to steal, something nobody would notice. It only held a handful of cars, but none that looked like one he'd take.

The doorknob prickled slightly under her skin, and she pulled her hand back in surprise.

"Doused it in holy water earlier," Sam said, his voice dangerously quiet as he walked towards her. "Not much left, but then it doesn't take much. Does it, Ruby?"

She turned and looked up at him, unable to stop the smile that spread across her lips. "When did you figure it out?"

"Last night."

She moved closer to him and put her finger on his chest, tracing it up his center until she reached his throat. "Guess I have a recognizable style, no matter the packaging, huh?"

He blinked, the slightest hint of a smirk on his face. "I could smell the sulfur in you, and when I made you scream, your eyes turned black." He grabbed her hand and clasped his large fingers around hers.

She met his eyes, curious at his next move.

"Just because it's dark doesn't mean I can't see." He released her hand and pushed it away, turning his back on her. He jumped up about a foot, and grabbed onto the pipe hanging from the ceiling, starting another set of pull-ups. Perfect movement, perfect form, no trace of agitation at all at her return. It was insulting, really.

She looked over towards the nearby table and glared at it. His cell-phone sparked as the battery overloaded. It made her feel a little better, at any rate. "You don't care that I'm back from the dead?"

"Should I?"

She scoffed. "I expected you to be...surprised, at least."

"I've died and come back. More than once. I've been to Heaven. I've been the Devil." He took a moment to shift the position of his hands, flipping his grip to put more weight on his biceps. "Not much surprises me. "

"You're different." She'd known he would be. No one came back from Hell unchanged. The cage was worse. Nothing could get out, but somehow Sam had. Or at least...part of him had.

Suddenly the reality of what had happened sunk in. It was the only explanation that made sense. "You're missing something." She walked past his moving form, watching the fine trickle of sweat down his back until she was standing across from him.

He kept moving, shallow but steady breaths, as fine tremors started in his arms. He'd have to stop soon, or switch position again.

"You don't even know how you got out, do you? Don't you want to know why you're here? Don't you want to know why _I'm_here?" she asked.

He dropped down from the bar. "I don't really care." He sat down and went right into a set of sit-ups. "I'll kill you again if I have to."

That made her eyebrow shoot up. "What makes you think it'll stick this time?"

"I figure if anybody brought you back, it was Lucifer. And if I'm right, then it probably won't be as easy for him to do it again from inside his jail cell."

She nodded. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She'd been resurrected by Lucifer the moment Sam had set him free, but she'd been locked away. A _contingency plan_the darkness had whispered back to her, in the Devil's voice.

She wasn't set free until Lucifer was falling back into his prison, and she felt it the exact moment his power was cut off from the world. She still wondered sometimes, if Sam could feel him. They'd always be connected, and if Sam wanted to, he could reach Lucifer. The connection between a vessel and their Angel could transcend any barrier, in theory.

Then again, this Sam didn't really seem like the transcendent type. He was sharper than he'd been. The theory that was forming in her head seemed more likely to be true every passing second. But there was an easy way to be sure.

Sam had grabbed a towel from his bed and was drying himself off. He grabbed a gray shirt from his duffel bag and slipped it on.

"What about Dean?" she asked carefully.

"What about him?"

"You two are usually joined at the hip." She gestured at the room. "I don't see him anywhere."

"He moved in with someone."

"Did he now?" Ruby had checked up on Dean, of course, but Sam didn't need to know that. "And he knows you're back?"

"Yup," Sam pulled his gun out of his duffel and slipped it into his holster. "Is there a point to all this, or are you just bored?"

"Your brother wouldn't just drop the hunting life. And he'd be here with you, if you were you."

Sam cocked his head to the side. "You don't think I'm me?"

"You really don't know, do you?" She walked closer to him again and caught his eyes with hers.

"Something's different," he said. "Since I got back — things are easier. "

"Yeah, that's not usually how people react to a stint in Hell. Do you even remember it?"

"I remember. It burned and it tore me apart, but..." His eyes looked distant for a few moments as he remembered.

"But what?"

"But I'm fine." He didn't laugh, exactly. It was more like a huff — somewhat amused. "I should be a mess. I should be suffering at least, right? Or struggling against a waking nightmare…but I'm not."

"And why do you think that is?"

"Because I left the weaker part of myself behind." His mouth twitched into a half-smile. "Whatever raised me wanted me sharp. It cut off everything about me that was soft and broken. I'm what's left."

"Interesting theory," she said. From his perspective, he was right. But she wondered how much of what had made Sam _Sam_had been lost along with that weakness. "Any idea who got you out?"

"Unless the rules have changed, only angels can free someone from Hell. It couldn't have been Lucifer." He shook his head once. "No other angel would care enough to set me free."

"Not even Castiel?"

"Is he strong enough to spring someone from the cage?"

"Not by a long shot," she said. _Not unless he had help._"Whoever did this, I don't think they got all of you out."

"What do you mean?"

She tilted her head to the side and stared at him curiously. "Do you sleep?"

He shook his head. "Don't need to. Don't want to."

"You don't think that's strange?"

"I've never been exactly normal." Sam shrugged, and away from her. He crouched down to the floor and pulled his duffel bag out, then dropped it on the bed. "I'm gonna head out."

"I'll come with you."

"Why?"

"You got out of Hell, you have no idea why…and if I'm right, you're missing your soul."

That actually got a reaction. Of a sort. Sam's eyebrows moved infinitesimally upwards. "My soul?"

"Whoever pulled you out did a half-assed job. They only got part of you. The rest of you — the part that feels and cares, the part that threw himself into the Pit — that part of you is still in the cage. Probably being ripped apart by Lucifer as we speak." She said the last part half with anger, half with jealousy. Lucifer, who she'd given everything to free, was trapped again along with Sam's soul. And this part of Sam, the one who didn't sleep, who didn't feel…he could be the answer she'd been looking for. "Look, you don't care if I go with you or not, right?"

"No."

"Then I'm coming with you."

"Okay."

And that was that.

* * *

They were hunting a shapeshifter. An _Alpha_, according to Sam.

"You're sure he's here?" she asked, eyeing the apartment building suspiciously.

"Security camera at the bank next door caught his eye flare. He's been here for at least three days."

"Okay, and how do we take him down? You said tranquilizers didn't do jack and silver barely phased him."

Sam frowned. "We'll have to try a _lot_of silver." He held up his gun. "Silver bullets in here, and more importantly..." He handed her a slim black box.

She flipped the box open to find four syringes filled with liquid colloidal silver. Then she turned to Sam. "Seriously?"

"It'll do way more damage in his bloodstream. Plus, we know needles can penetrate his skin from last time. And I know you can get close enough to inject him."

"See, I'm useful already," she said smirking. Of course if he was relying on her to assist, then he considered the alpha to be quite the opponent. And if he was right, then this might be the opportunity she'd been waiting for since he recognized who she was.

It wouldn't be easy to convince him to start drinking her blood again. This version of Sam might be more ruthless, but he also struck her as the type that would see any addictive substance as a weakness. It was going to be tricky to convince him he was strong enough to handle the blood without going overboard. She'd have to go slow, she'd have to wait for the right moment.

She was good at waiting.

* * *

The Alpha came back to the apartment building a few hours later and they tracked him inside. He caught on half a flight up and started running up the steps. Inhumanly fast, he sprinted up, taking two, three steps at a time and threw open the door to the rooftop.

Ruby willed herself out onto the roof, positioning herself behind the water-tower, and watched.

Sam followed seconds later, aiming his gun at the shifter.

"Unless you can sprout wings," Sam said, "I don't think there's a way out of this for you."

The shifter's lips curved into a snarl and he changed his shape, taking on Dean's form. "Come on, you wouldn't shoot your own brother, Sam. Would you?"

"You're not my brother," Sam said, aiming for the shifter's heart.

"Seems to me, we're more alike than you think, Sam." The shifter's form melted again until he looked exactly like Sam — down to the last detail. "We're both unique in this world. First of our kind. We don't have to be enemies."

Sam cocked his head to the side, as though considering the situation. He caught Ruby's eyes then, but didn't let it show on his face.

Ruby winked at him, and lunged forward, syringe aimed at the alpha's throat.

The shifter moved faster than she could see. She'd been a demon for centuries, and had never seen anything that quick. It grabbed her wrist and pulled back, snapping the bones in her arm.

She cried out in pain as the syringe fell to the ground.

Sam fired two shots, causing the shifter to jerk. He growled and leapt forward, tackling Sam to the ground.

Ruby watched them, trying to keep track of who was winning. Her eyes couldn't tell them apart, but her other senses could.

After a minute of grappling, the shifter got himself underneath Sam and kicked, throwing Sam off of himself and up into the air. Sam landed hard against a metal leg of the water tower. He struggled to push himself up, but the shifter had already made a run for it. He jumped off the roof, sailed through the air, and grabbed onto the edge of a fire-escape the next building over. He slammed his body through the nearest window, sending glass shards flying and disappeared inside.

"Want me to go after him?" Ruby asked when she got to Sam's side.

Sam spit out a mouthful of his own blood and looked up at her, with something like anger on his face.

No, not anger. It was the look of a predator whose prey had escaped.

"No," he said, and reached for her arm.

For a second, she thought he wanted her to pull him up. And then he pushed back her sleeve and in one swift movement, pulled a knife from his sheath and sliced open her forearm. He brought his lips around the wound before she had even fully processed what had happened.

"Sam—" _That was a lot easier than I thought it would be._

He drank deep and quickly and pushed her arm away when he was done. He stood up, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth and said, "Let's go."

"After the shifter?"

Sam didn't answer, but moved towards the edge of the roof looking the way the shifter had gone. Even with demon blood in his system, he wouldn't be able to jump that long distance.

"No, he'll lay low for a bit. But there's other hunts out there." He turned to look at her. "And now I've got another weapon back in my arsenal."

* * *

She waited until he'd pulled out onto the highway, in the direction of what he was sure were rugaru hunting grounds, to ask him the question that had been stuck in her head since the rooftop. "You're not worried?"

"About what?"

"The blood, it— you have to keep drinking it if you want to get stronger, and stay that way. You know that."

He nodded. "I just need to have a steady supply and control the dosage. Slow increases, no heavy fluctuations."

"Okay then. I mean I'm here for you, obviously."

"Can't count on that. After we take down the rugaru we'll track down a demon or two. Stock up."

"Sam, you can count on me."

"No, I can't," he said as he pulled over into the exit lane. "You betrayed me before. You're probably doing the same thing now. But then, you're not the only demon walking the Earth, are you?"

She didn't know what to say to that, so she settled for glaring out the window.

The rugaru went down quick. Sam tackled it while it was feeding, and brought it down to the ground. Before it could get back up, he brought his machete down on the monster's throat and sliced right through, lopping off the head. Its furious, distorted face stopped moving and fell still.

There'd been a lot of force behind that blow, a rugaru's skin was tough as wood, and didn't cut easily. But Sam's strength, enhanced by the demon blood, was enough. Ruby set it alight with her flamethrower to make sure it stayed dead. Rugarus had a nasty habit of regrowing heads.

Sam was pleased by the kill. Well, as pleased as this new version of Sam seemed to get, anyway. He drove down the highway at a steady, but unrushed pace, stopped at a diner to get something to eat, and even ordered french fries for Ruby. It was almost fun.

They hit the road again just after sunset. Sam pulled a map out of the side pocket of his door and tossed it in her lap. "Find us some demons."

She glared at him. "What do I look like, a bloodhound?"

Sam smirked.

She sighed melodramatically and unfolded the map making sure to shove most of it in front of Sam's face, causing him to bat it away angrily to avoid driving off the road. She found him two demons, less than twenty miles away.


	2. Chapter 2

They pulled into a hotel a few hours later with four jugs full of demon blood. Sam had decided that half a pint twice a day was the ideal dosage. It kept him strong enough to kill demons easily without sending his system into overdrive. He'd have to make an exception if they ended up going after someone as strong as Lilith or Alistair, but beyond that, he'd be fine.

Demon blood didn't spoil easy, but he spent the night outfitting the trunk of his car with a recessed cooling compartment he could store the blood in anyway. They left again the next morning. She was getting used to him being awake nights. She kind of liked it. It made him seem more like her. He _was _more like her, in all the ways that mattered.

They went on like that for weeks — hunting, stopping on occasion to heal, or find the right weapons, or restock demon blood. It was nice.

And then Dean called.

* * *

Ruby had known it was just a matter of time. The brothers never stayed away from each other for good. The surprising part was that Sam ignored Dean's first three calls. When he did pick up, the conversation was brief — little more than a _"I'm fine, Dean."_

Dean called back again when they were on their way to a motel, but Sam let it go to voicemail.

"What did he want?" she asked.

"Wanted to ask me if I knew anything about exsanguinated humans with signs of prior demonic possession."

"Told you we should have burned the bodies."

"It doesn't matter, I'm not hunting with him anymore. What does he care if I'm drinking demon blood again?"

She shook her head. Sam might have been sharper in some ways without his soul, but he was dumb as a stump in others. "He cares because you're still his brother. As far as he's concerned, anyway."

"We'll head out again in a few hours, I just want to get cleaned up and make some stakes. If I'm right about this, there's probably more than one nest of vampires in town."

"Okay." They'd take down the vamps easy. Sam's reflexes were better than ever and with the added power of the demon blood, vampires didn't pose too much trouble. It wasn't the upcoming fight that was making her nervous. It was something about the motel room. She sensed it the moment they stepped inside. "Sam—"

"Ruby?" Dean asked, venom in his voice as he glared at her. "It's you, isn't it? Thought we killed you."

"I got better," Ruby said quietly. She eyed Dean as Castiel stepped up beside him.

"That's how you got here so quickly," Sam said. "Castiel, haven't seen you around in a while. What've you been up to?"

The angel looked at him oddly. "There's a war in Heaven. I've been busy."

Sam nodded, "So why are you here?"

"Dean is worried about you. He said you were drinking demon blood again." Castiel narrowed his eyes. "And he was right."

"Could you two give me and my brother a minute alone, please," Dean said, barely restrained fury making his voice low.

Castiel looked at Ruby and said, "I'll be back. Waiting outside with her would be...awkward."

"Thanks, feathers. Wouldn't kill you to try being polite." Ruby opened the door and stepped outside, leaning against the wall of the motel with her arms folded across her chest.

She heard their voices — Dean's rising and falling, Sam's always steady. It was Dean who left first. He slammed the door and his mouth twitched angrily, but he didn't look at her. He just kept walking across the parking lot until he met up with Castiel again, who'd reappeared near the _Vacancy_sign. They vanished a moment later.

Sam was sitting by the motel table with four stakes and was sharpening one of them.

"So what'd he say?" she asked.

"He said he'd find a way to fix me." Sam shrugged. "I told him what you said, that I didn't have my soul. Not sure if he believed me or not. Doesn't really matter."

"It matters if he figures out a way to get it back," she said.

"Can he?"

She shook her head. "Like I said, nothing I know is powerful enough to pull a soul out of Lucifer's cage. But then again, you two have done the impossible a few times now."

"Whatever. Go shower if you want. I'll take one after and then we'll go track down some vampires when the sun comes up."

* * *

"I think you need to assume Dean will find a way to get your soul back," Ruby told Sam a few hours later. She'd had enough time to mull it over, and her gut told her Dean wasn't going to let this go.

"But you said it was—"

"I know what I said, but…your brother is tenacious. He'll figure out something."

"Okay, so what do I do about it?"

"We need to figure out what's strong enough to re-soul you, and make sure we're protected against it."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Whatever it is would have to be stronger than Lucifer right? That doesn't leave many options."

"No, it doesn't."

She started researching while he showered, and finally convinced Sam the vampires needed to wait a little bit. It was important that they kept Sam the way he was.

He agreed and they spent nearly half the day looking for answers. They didn't find any, but had to take a break to get some really late lunch, or early dinner.

It finally hit her when she was squeezing ketchup onto her plate. "Death could do it."

"What?"

"Death, the Horseman. He could get a soul out of the cage."

Sam swallowed. It was the closest to nervous she'd seen him in weeks. "You think Dean could convince him to do it?"

Ruby took a thoughtful bite of her fry. "I wouldn't put it past him."

"What do we do? How do you…stop Death?"

"You don't." She scoffed. "There aren't a whole lot of things as strong as him." She had a thought, but then dismissed it when she realized it was impossible. Unless…it wasn't.

"There's one other person who could open the cage."

"Who?"

"You. You're Lucifer's vessel. You could set him free again."

"Why the hell would I want to do that?"

"Because if Lucifer walks the Earth again, then all the signs and portents, all the monsters that go hand in hand with him will be at full strength again."

"Ruby, what are you trying to say?" Sam looked annoyed.

"There's a child. A cambion — born of a demon and a human. It would be powerless now, with Lucifer imprisoned, but if he's freed, then this child could—"

"Destroy the entire host of Heaven?" Sam finished. "We met him. His name is Jesse. He turned Castiel into an action figure."

Ruby blinked, dumbfounded.

"He disappeared. Didn't want any part of the Apocalypse. We told him to — it was the only way to keep his family safe."

"That's great. So — you have no idea where he is, then?"

"No, but…he's part demon isn't he? Even if he's powerless?"

Ruby could feel her lips quirk. "You have another map handy?"


	3. Chapter 3

"You really think Jesse will help us?" Sam asked as they stood in front of the small house."

Ruby shrugged. "You can be pretty charming. Well, the puppy-soul version of you, anyway. Hopefully you made a good impression on him last time."

Jesse had found his way back home, as it turned out. With his powers gone, his parents weren't in any danger. Sam rang the doorbell and smiled when Jesse answered. They'd timed it carefully, arriving during the two hour window where Jesse was home alone.

"Hi, Jesse. Do you remember me?"

The boy looked up at him. He'd grown taller since the last time Sam had seen him, but his eyes looked even older. He'd learned a lot. "You're Sam." He looked at Ruby and then between them, out the door. "Where's your brother?"

"That's kind of why I'm here to talk to you," Sam said.

They explained everything. Ruby had told Sam that was a terrible idea, but Sam had insisted that telling Jesse the truth was the only way this was going to work. They needed him to get his powers back to help them anyway, and once he did, he'd be able to read all their thoughts. Lying to him would only backfire horribly.

Jesse listened to their whole story, quietly, only interrupting them once to go get himself soda. He offered Sam one too, and when Ruby asked if she could have one he said, "I'm not sure if I trust you yet."

"Neither am I," Sam said. "But she'd on our side. For now, at least."

"Dr. Pepper or Coke?" Jesse asked.

* * *

Jesse had agreed to help them if he could, but the problem was the timing. They had to release Lucifer just long enough for Jesse to stop Death, or whoever Dean had recruited to get Sam's soul. Sam had no intention of housing Lucifer himself.

Ruby knew that was inevitable. Sam was Lucifer's true vessel. He'd said yes before, and the moment Lucifer was free, he'd go right back into Sam's body. But Sam didn't have to know that. Dean's plan, as bothersome as it might end up being had helped her speed things along inadvertently. If they freed Lucifer first, then even if they did put Sam's soul back in, Lucifer could burn it away.

They just had to hurry. Ruby zipped from one corner of the globe to the other gathering the ingredients they'd need to reopen the gate to Hell. Sam's blood was the key. They wouldn't open the gate wide, just enough for Lucifer's grace to get a hold on its vessel. Sam's blood would do the rest.

Whatever it was Sam had planned to try to keep Lucifer in check would fail, but she wasn't about to tell him that. He was busy acquiring holy oil and lining the empty cabin they'd found with anti-angelic sigils, to keep them hidden from Castiel, and to keep Lucifer trapped inside once they had him.

By the time Ruby got back with everything Sam had nearly every wall covered. "Nice work," she said, faintly impressed by his thoroughness. "This should buy us some time. They can't re-soul you if they can't find you."

Sam nodded, and continued working on the Enochian sigil he was painting onto the wall.

Ruby laid the ingredients out on the table and looked out the window. "It's ten minutes to midnight. Think Jesse's in bed?"

"Definitely."

"Be right back." She pointed at the jug of demon blood Sam had brought with him. "You should drink up, just in case." She knew he would, he wasn't stupid — even if he was still gullible.

Ruby vanished one more time, manifesting right outside Jesse's window, on his roof. He hadn't warded his room against demons or anything, but people generally found it impolite if she just appeared in their room while they were sleeping, and she didn't want to scare him off. She rapped on the window three times, just loud enough for him to hear.

Jesse stood up seconds later and rubbed his eyes before turning towards the window. He yawned as he pushed it open, and asked, "Everything ready?"

"Yeah."

"I can't be gone long, or Mom and Dad'll freak out."

"This shouldn't take long."

Jesse had agreed to help them under a few conditions: they'd either lock Lucifer back up after they were done (not a chance if Ruby had her say), or get Lucifer to take Jesse's powers away so he could stay where he was. Sam had told him truthfully that he didn't know if they could do either, but they'd make sure his family would be safe one way or the other.

Ruby took them both back to the cabin to find Sam ready to perform the spell. The blood-jug was completely empty.

"You don't waste any time, do you?" Ruby asked smugly.

"No. Midnight is the best time. It's when the veil is the thinnest." He brought the tip of his dagger to his thumb until a drop of blood welled up and turned it over, letting the red liquid drip into the bowl of herbs. There was a spark, and then another as the mixture caught fire, and Sam began chanting. _"Mo-no-en-es geh zodee-sodoh-pah bah-bah-loh-en!"_ The floor beneath them started to rumble. Sam crouched down and put his bleeding thumb in the center of the circle of holy oil he'd made and continued,_"A keh-nee-la nee-ee-seh vee-rah-geh."_ A small crack opened where Sam's blood had stained the floorboards and a beam of light shone through, so bright that even Ruby had to close her eyes. _"Solpeth, solpeth ee saga!_"

_He's coming,_she thought, suddenly tense with anticipation. This time she'd live long enough to see his reign. This time there wasn't a damn thing Dean could—

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Dean asked from behind her.

Ruby whipped around furious to see Dean and the horseman Death.

"This is indeed foolish," The Horseman said, looking from Ruby to Sam.

But it was too late. The light streamed right into Sam's eyes, faster and faster, as the hole in the floor widened. Lucifer's grace flowed into Sam, and Jesse's eyes glowed bright-white as his own power returned to him.

Ruby watched Sam, mesmerized and suddenly felt regret. Lucifer had returned, but she'd lose Sam again. She struggled with her own thoughts, trying to push away the sense of guilt she felt. This version of Sam didn't feel any guilt, why should she? She was doing what she needed to do, to free her king, to free her _god_. But she felt guilty, just the same.

Sam started screaming in the background, as Lucifer's grace filled him from head to toe. His back arched, and for a moment, he lifted off the floor entirely, wholly encased in light. Then the light vanished and he fell heavily to the floor, landing on his knees with one fist pressed straight down.

Ruby swallowed and took a step towards him. "My lord?"

Lucifer lifted his head and turned to her, smiling beatifically. "Well done, child."

Ruby fell to her knees, tears spilling down her cheeks. Lucifer was free. He was _free_. And Sam was…well she wasn't sure, exactly. If he'd still been a soul, he would've been trapped somewhere inside his own head, but this new Sam wasn't even a soul…so whether he still existed at all was a complete mystery. Part of her, more than she cared to admit, hoped he was still in there. She turned over her shoulder to look at Jesse, gratefully.

But the boy was busy staring at Dean. "You really just want to help him, don't you?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I really do. Listen, whatever he told you — he's not my brother. My brother's soul is still down there." He pointed at the hole in the floor. "And I want to get him out. But he needs his body. You get that, don't you?"

"They're both right," Jesse said suddenly.

Lucifer focused on the boy, and Ruby took a few steps towards him. "What do you mean?"

"Dean wants his brother back. Sam's soul should be free. But you…" Jesse pointed at Lucifer. "You just took over a body that had someone inside of it, too. Even if that Sam doesn't have a soul, he has a mind. He has a will of his own."

Lucifer looked mildly offended. "He's an empty vessel. _My _empty vessel. He called me back so he could be complete again."

"No he didn't," Jesse said. "He just wanted to stay alive. He wanted to stay himself." He shook his head. Then he walked over to the small hole in the floor Lucifer's grace had poured out of. "Can you get Sam's soul out of there?" he asked Death.

"I can, but he needs a body," the horseman answered.

"Take me with you," Jesse said.

The horseman smiled, genuinely surprised by the boy. "Do you know where we're going?"

"A bad place. Someplace nobody should be." He looked up at the horseman. "What are you waiting for?"

"No—" Ruby said, just before they disappeared. She looked at Lucifer, panicked.

"There's nothing they can do," he said calmly. Then he turned to smirk at Dean. "Even if the horseman frees your brother's soul…where will he go?"

Dean glowered at him, but said nothing.

Barely a minute had passed before Jesse and Death returned…with Sam.

Ruby's jaw dropped as she tried to understand what she was seeing. Death was cradling Sam's body in his arms and laid him down by Dean's feet.

"How…?" she asked, unable to stop herself from getting closer, staring down at the body.

"He needed a body, so I made him one," Jesse said matter-of-factly.

"You…wow," Dean said as he dropped to his knees beside his brother. "What about his soul…is he gonna be okay?" He looked up at Death questioningly.

Death shook his head. "As I told you, I can hold off the memories of what he has suffered through, but only for a time. As much as he wants to, he must resist trying to remember. If he does, then the _wall _that I've built in his mind will begin to crumble." The horseman turned to look at Lucifer. "This is quite the anomaly. Your cambion is fascinating."

Lucifer nodded at him. "He's one of my most powerful weapons."

"I'm not yours," Jesse said, shaking his head.

"Your power comes from me," Lucifer said, narrowing his eyes. He pulled Sam's body up to his full height and walked closer to them, looking down at the other Sam with disdain. "Without me, you're just an ordinary human."

"I know, and that's fine. But while you're here, I can still do things."

"Yes, you can do _great _things," Ruby said, desperate to get things back on track. Something was terribly wrong here, and if she didn't act quickly it could all fall apart. "Stay with us, we'll make sure you and your family are safe."

Dean scoffed.

"We _will_," Ruby insisted.

Jesse shook his head. "I just want everything to go back to normal again. But this…isn't fair." He sighed and looked up, meeting Lucifer's eyes. "We sent your brother home, you know."

"Oh?" Lucifer asked.

Ruby could feel his displeasure rising. They'd set Michael free, and that meant he'd come after Lucifer.

"And your brother, Adam too," Jesse continued, turning back to Dean. "He's in Heaven again. Thing is…we really didn't want the whole Apocalypse thing to start up again, so…everybody up there is kind of…grounded."

"Nobody can get in or out?" Dean asked.

"New souls may enter, but no angels will leave," the horseman said with just a hint of a smile. Then he turned to Lucifer. "Including you."

"Pardon?"

"You're going home, little boy," said Death. "And you and your brother will work things out. You had a lot of time together after all, I'm sure you talked some things through." He took a step forward.

Lucifer took a step back, Sam's eyes wide. "You can't be serious."

"I am always serious," said the horseman. Then he placed his fingers on Sam's forehead. His eyes lit up bright as Lucifer's grace was expelled forcefully and the house shook as the archangel was pulled back home. Ruby caught Sam, and kept him from falling. He blinked and looked around at the others in confusion.

Jesse's eyes flashed once and he nearly collapsed, as he became human again. Death caught his arm and smiled at him. "It's done."

Dean looked up at Sam, standing next to Ruby, then down at the other Sam, who housed his brother's soul. "This is weird."

"You got that right," Ruby muttered.

"It's weird," Jesse agreed. "But it's fair." He looked up at Death again. "Can you take me home?"

The horseman nodded. "Dean?"

"Yeah, we're ready too." He looked back from Ruby to Sam one last time and said, "My brother never finds out about this. Understand?"

Ruby nodded, and caught Sam doing the same next to her. "We can do that. We'll stay off your radar, you stay off of ours."

Death took a slow breath and clasped his hands together. "Well then, I'll be seeing you all again at some point. Try not to make it too soon." With that he disappeared, taking Jesse, Dean, and the other Sam along.

The cabin felt empty after they left, and Ruby stared at the empty floor where they'd been a moment earlier. She didn't know how Sam would react. She didn't know what to do next. She had no plan, for the first time in her existence, and it was terrifying.

Sam let out a small huff. "You wanna go get some fries?"

Maybe it wasn't that terrifying, after all.


End file.
